"The overall findings for 2011 show a continued pattern of steady decline in the incidence of HAIs in Pennsylvania," the report said. It estimated at least $34 million in direct health care cost savings as a result in just the past two years.

In the three major categories of HAIs, the percentages of the declines reported in 2011 were as follows: Catheter-associated urinary tract infections, 9.4 percent; central line-associated bloodstream infections, 4.3 percent; and selected types of surgical site infections, 5.9 percent.

The DOH report also mentioned influenza vaccination. Information hospitals voluntarily submitted indicated the following vaccination rates: Hospital employees, 72 percent; licensed independent practitioners, 67 percent; volunteers, 66 percent. Only 19 percent of the hospitals achieved 90 percent or better coverage, which has been set as a goal by 2020.

Area hospitals' crude infection rates per 1,000 patient days are in the following chart. The results are not adjusted for factors such as the type and intensity of care, size of the facility or differences in patient populations.

Hospital

Crude infection rate

Carlisle Regional Medical Center

0.95

Chambersburg Hospital

2.18

Ephrata Community Hospital

1.28

Gettysburg Hospital

1.93

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Mechanicsburg

0.65

HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of York

3.49

Heart of Lancaster Regional Medical Center

3.74

Holy Spirit Hospital

1.89

Lancaster General Hospital

2.32

Lancaster Regional Medical Center

2.74

Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital

1.02

LifeCare Hospitals of Mechanicsburg

1.72

Memorial Hospital York

3.26

Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

3.82

Penn State Hershey Rehabilitation LLC

2.41

PinnacleHealth Hospitals

2.68

Select Specialty Hospital York

3.90

Select Specialty Hospital Camp Hill

3.14

The Good Samaritan Hospital

1.80

York Hospital

2.95

State

2.22

The second report is from national nonprofit organization The Leapfrog Group, which used 26 measures of hospital safety to compile a single letter grade. The measures include computerized physician order entry, intensive care unit physician staffing, nursing workforce, hand hygiene, accidental puncture or laceration, and catheter removal.

Leapfrog graded 2,618 general hospitals in its most recent report, of which 790 earned an A, 678 earned a B, 1,004 earned a C, 121 earned a D, and 25 earned an F.